Valentine’s Day is almost here! I have a slight obsession with hearts, so it’s only fitting that I’ve always loved this time of year. Whereas I preferred chocolate (as long as it had nuts) in the past, once I started my healthy route, I struggled to find creative ways to treat myself or my valentine.
When I started cooking and baking more, I realized the possibilities for healthier versions of treats wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought!
If you or bae are working on being more health-conscious, or you’re just in the mood for something sweet and easy, give this recipe a try!
Now Valentine’s Day is obviously not a national holiday, and most of us are busy with work, kids, or, you know.. life. So I thought sharing my recipe for the easiest cookies ever would be fitting for this day.
The base of these cookies requires only two ingredients!! The toppings or additions are optional. I eat these plain all the time because I’m quite the cookie monster, and I don’t feel guilty at all having these as my breakfast or as snacks throughout the day.
Without the additions, they’re just sweet enough. With additions, the yumminess of these cookies is amplified.
The trick to making these delicious cookies is to make sure you have ripe bananas- those awesome black spots on your bananas means you’re ready! The more dots, the sweeter your bananas will be.
If your bananas aren’t quite ripe enough yet, I’d recommend additions to this recipe (I’ve added my suggestions a bit further down).
Have I mentioned yet that these cookies are vegan and can be made gluten-free? Yaaaaas!
Ready for the two ingredients?!
Well.. you already know one of them: bananas! The other? Rolled oats!
Let’s break down the health benefits you’ll get from consuming these (as you know I love doing).
Both of these ingredients are wonderful for digestion, so your valentine’s (or your!) heart and tummy will be thankful. 🙂
Bananas: Not only are bananas rich in various vitamins and fiber, they’re also an excellent source of potassium, a mineral that helps your heart stay healthy and can aid in lowering blood pressure.
Rolled Oats: Rolled oats also contain fiber and help regulate your cholesterol levels due to their antioxidants. While I’ve used regular rolled oats for this recipe, I used gluten-free oats for this treat since our house is fully stocked with them and they work just as well! My go to brand is this one because it’s a nice big bag and I have oatmeal just about every day. They’re also certified gluten-free, which is great when I’m making food for my gluten intolerant family and friends.
So, how do ya do it? It’s so easy!
You want to make sure you have a 2:1 ratio of bananas to oats. I used two bananas and one cup of oats.
First, mash the bananas in a bowl. You can use a masher or a fork for this process.
One that’s all mashed, add the oats. Mix the two together with a spoon or fork (I used the same fork as I mashed with.. because.. less dishes).
This is also the time you can add in any additional ingredients if you so desire.
My suggestions? 1-2 teaspoons of any of the following (or combinations of) superfoods & somewhat guilty pleasures:
*Raisins
*1 to 2 tablespoons of nuts (walnuts are my fave for this recipe!) and/or seeds
For the heart-shaped cookies, you can either use a cookie cutter like this one or a set like this
OR you can use a small spoon by rolling the dough into a tablespoon sized ball, then:
- Flatten it a bit on the parchment paper
- Use the spoon to cut a small opening in the middle at the top of the circle
- Use the mouth of the spoon to curve to one side of the cut, then the next
- Create a point at the bottom of the circle
- Create a v-shape from the curved top down to the point at the bottom
- Stare in awe at your beautiful heart-shaped creation!
Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I added yummy toppings that I knew the hubs would enjoy, like chocolate chips. We love these because they’re dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free! And still delicious without all that stuff!
Time to get creative for you or your lovey!
I also melted some dark chocolate and added that on top of some of the cookies. The higher the cacao content, the healthier the dark chocolate! And did I mention antioxidants?
I added peanut butter to the dark chocolate for some of them too! Really, the possibilities are endless!
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 cup gluten free or regular rolled oats
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit
- Mash bananas with a fork or masher in a large bowl
- Add in 1 cup of oats
- Mix together with fork or spoon until well blended
- Create tablespoon sized balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter or use a spoon to form hearts
- Place in oven
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown
Let me know if you make these and what kinds of combos you came up with!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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